$25,000 Donated to LA Children's Hospital AYA Program

The LampStrong Foundation is proud to have made a $25,000 donation to LA Children's Hospital's AYA Programming.

The AYA Program provides support and events for teenage & young adult cancer patients currently in treatment and post-treatment.

This program is important to the LampStrong Foundation & we are proud to have now supported AYA programs in Minneapolis, Chicago & now Los Angeles.

Special thanks to Dr. Bava & the team at LA Children's for carrying on the mission of the LampStrong Foundation.

See below for a letter from Dr. Bava:

We are thankful to LampStrong for its generous philanthropic gift of $25,000 and its continued commitment to improving the lives of patients and families through the Teen and Family Support Service (TFSS) at the Cancer and Blood Disease Institute (CBDI), Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA).

Your gift will support the work of pediatric psychologist Laura Bava, PsyD, ABPP, who leads the TFSS. The Teen and Family Support Service is a clinical-research service focused on providing exceptional and transdisciplinary comprehensive care for Adolescents and Young Adults (AYA), ages 13-21, undergoing treatment hematology, oncology and/or bone marrow transplantation services. Our goal is to improve medical, social, and psychological outcomes for AYAs by aiming to reduce distress and psychological symptoms that negatively impact quality of life and participation in medical treatment. In addition to clinical assessment and intervention, services focus on peer normalization, psychoeducation, empowerment, and social integration. Quality improvement, program development, and research aimed at improving clinical care are also integrated into the program. TFSS offers comprehensive family-centered and culturally competent behavioral health services to AYAs and their families. We serve the AYAs, as well as their siblings and Parents/caregivers.

The TFSS is available to more than 3,000 AYA cancer patients at CHLA. Most of these patients are underserved and underresourced, with 74 percent coming from low-income families. In addition, 65 percent are Latinx with many Spanish-speaking and bilingual families. Services are delivered free of cost to families and patients. Despite these services being crucial, preventive and impactful, they are not covered by medical insurance.

Philanthropic partners like you play a vital role in CHLA’s ability to fulfill its mission to create hope and build healthier futures, today and for generations to come.